Health care workers and their patients face problems related to lifting and moving non-ambulatory patients. Health care workers face possibilities of injuries to themselves in lifting such patients. Patients as well are often subjected to potential injuries in the process of being lifted and moved. Additionally, extant devices and systems for assisting or facilitating the lifting and moving of such patients often subject the patient to disconcerting fear as well as humiliation. Being, for example, slung under a hoist with lifting cranks or motors suspended overhead is often a source of fear. Moreover, such extant devices often include configurations that are ungainly to use, difficult to move through doorways and negotiate past obstacles, and bulky to store.
There is a need for a patient lifting device that respects the sensibilities of patients, provides a stable and secure lifting arrangement, is easy to maneuver and operate, and is capable of being efficiently stored.